Lagos plans Model City to aid growth

Lagos has a population of about 20 million. It is still growing. To meet the expected growth, the state government is contemplating developing 70,000 hectares of land surrounding Mainland, Yaba, Somolu, Mushin, Surulere and Coker/Aguda council areas to unlock their economic potentials. Under the planned Model City, there will be controlled use of land and design of the environment. There will also be guided transportation network to ease movement. OKWY IROEGBU-CHIKEZIE reports.

THE Lagos State government is set to transform the Mainland, Yaba, Somolu, Mushin, Surulere and Coker/Aguda council areas to meet its growing population.

With a population of about 20 million, the metropolis is still expanding raising the need for more facilities and infrastructure. The government’s plans surrounding these council areas into a Model City.

The aim is to guide growth in these areas in the next 20 years.

Lagos is facing critical urban challenges arising from its population of 20 million, which is growing at between six and eight per cent, with more than 30 per cent contribution to the Gross Domestic Product (GDP). Model City plan is a tool for the delivery of social, economic and environmental benefits to the citizenry making provision for new activity zones and identifying some districts for urban regeneration.

In an interview with The Nation, House of Assembly Committee on Physical Planning & Urban Development Chairman, Mr Egberongbe Mufutau said no community or town can develop orderly without planning. He traced the springing up of slums in some areas of the state to lack of effective planning. He said the government demonstrated its resolve to re-plan some settlements by sending delegates to Singapore to understudy them and come back to implement the lessons learnt.

Egberongbe said the challenge that may be faced in the re-planning of the mainland remains that of population explosion, security challenges and waste management.

He said no planning can be effective without public participation to gauge the needs of those that will be affected. He various however, acknowledged that it comes with the improvement of life and the unlocking of economic development and potentials.

Chairman, Lekki Free Trade Zone and former Permanent Secretary in the Physical Planning & Urban Development ministry, Otunba Segun Jawando, said for any pan to be effective, it must ask and accommodate the views of the people who will be directly affected by it. On the mainland Model City Plan, he said special attention should be paid to the ubiquitous street markets and how to curtail it. He frowned at a situation where every available space is used as a market, stressing that if the state must achieve a mega city status, orderliness must be achieved in the environment to make it livable for the people.

Two monarchs Oba Fatai Adisa, and Oba Fatai Aromire from Lagos Mainland also welcomed the idea of re-planning of their area of jurisdictions but asked the government to do more in terms of public enlightenment to achieve the desired result. They said they may lose some of their land or houses to modernity but advised their subjects to support the move as it has the potentials to usher economic development if the government acts sincerely in the delivery of the project.

Commissioner of Physical Planning & Urban Development, Mr Olutoyin Ayinde said he is not unmindful that the project is fraught with challenges but that the government is committed to its delivery.

He said is worries is that people are localising the re-planning of the Mainland city without looking at the bigger picture. He pledged the government’s preparedness to incorporate traditional places in the new plan without distorting the plan but insisted that the proposed plan must go on while street trading will be regulated to have an orderly environment.

He said: "The model city plan makes provision for new activity zones and identifies some districts for urban regeneration, such as Iddo business district, Mushin, Okobaba, Otto and Surulere neigbourhoods. It will unlock the enormous potentials and the opportunities of the area for compact development, infrastructure upgrade and improved standards for planning and urban development."

Consultants to the project, Messrs Dar Al Handassah Shair and Partners unveiled the challenges and constraints the model plan is faced with, such as the congestion of primary axis of movement; infrastructural services; continuing growth of slums; limited east-west linkage; flood prone areas and poor accessibility due to poor road networks.

They, however, cited some benefits that will accompany the model city to include economic development, beautification, drainage improvement, cleanliness of the city, improvements to road networks and high density housing.

Others are improvement in the mainland transport corridor, existing hub of connectivity/activities as well as improving existing cultural, education and sports system. Furthermore, they added the city plan will equally help to reduce congestion; improve connections between centres; help build on existing assets; promote interventions, which will be beneficial to slum areas; promote classifications and more efficient use of land.

The Model City plan will include the establishment of city centres, which will be divided into Metropolitan, district and local centres - all in a bid to grow the potentials of the city and improve the well-being of residents.